About Rod D. Martin
Praise for Rod D. Martin
Book Rod to Speak
Politics & Economics
Technology & Markets
Faith & Culture
by Richard N. Lorenc
November 15, 2017
Is there any sweeter joy than unboxing a brand new iPhone in the crisp autumn air?
Call it smartphone addiction or Apple fanboy indulgence, but the dopamine rush I get every other year when I upgrade my iPhone is one of my favorite things.
This year was extra-special. Instead of upgrading to a finely-honed version of last year’s iPhone, I took the leap with the brand-new iPhone X. Although this is outside of my normal upgrade pattern, it’s not uncharacteristic. I’m a sucker for new gadgets; I was an early adopter of the Apple Watch and I plan to get a HomePod next month.
After spending a full weekend with my new toy, I can say confidently the iPhone X is the best gadget I’ve ever owned.
The Same But Different
There’s nothing entirely unfamiliar about the iPhone X. It’s about the same size as the previous models and runs the same iOS software we’ve used for 10 years. The biggest difference, identified immediately, is that it’s missing the iconic iPhone home button.
In its place is a new edge-to-edge display and “True Depth” front-facing camera system. The True Depth system is the key to your iPhone, allowing for a truly magical unlocking experience through the new Face ID.
There’s been a lot of chatter about how non-iPhones have had facial or corneal recognition abilities for years, but it’s my impression that the iPhone X, with its ability to authenticate its owner without a code, is superior. In Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’s understated turn of phrase: It just works. And it works regardless of my level of sleep deprivation, sunglasses, or other such disguises. That fact is what continues the iPhone’s legacy as an intuitive technological masterpiece.
It’s The Small Stuff
Details are what have always set the iPhone apart from the hundreds of other smartphones that pull from the same technology pool, yet can’t quite put it all together in the same way.
One surprising detail about the new iPhone X is how Apple has programmed the operating system to tap into the phone’s Face ID system when it would otherwise require a fingerprint on the now-obsolete home button. This means I can use my face to authenticate into apps whose developers haven’t yet updated their software to work with Face ID. Soon every app will have this functionality, but, in the meantime, it just works.
Some of the gestures used to access different planes and parts of the system are different than before, but it took me about 10 minutes to become accustomed to swiping upward instead of pressing the Home button. Apple placed a persistent simple white line on the bottom of the screen to constantly remind the user that that is how you now exit apps.
The Entrepreneurial Challenge
As with any new Apple product launch, naysayers leap on the opportunity to explain how the company is out of innovative ideas. This is despite the fact that iPhones sell out quickly, and Apple has already sold more iPhone X units than Google will sell of its new Pixel 2 over 12 months.
But selling millions of phones isn’t really the biggest entrepreneurial challenge. Rather it’s the profitable combination of tools, technologies, and creativity to create products that customers didn’t even realize they desired previously.
It’s true the iPhone X is somewhat fragile (and beautiful with its smooth glass front and back), and that it lacks certain features other phones have. But hastily throwing every new technology into a product isn’t what Apple’s customers want in a handheld supercomputer. They want surprise, delight, beauty, and function.
On all of the fronts that matter to you and me, the iPhone X delivers.
— The iPhone X Really Is All That originally appeared at FEE.org.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin and [former Howard Dean campaign manager] Joe Trippi are America’s two foremost experts on online politics.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
